Oil and other liquids having a specific gravity which is less than water are frequently transported by boats and ships. Oil and other potentially hazardous liquids are transported across or through water by pipelines or similar conduits. Such liquid materials are loaded onto ships by means of pipelines, requiring a connection of a pipeline to the ship.
Spills of oil and other liquid materials which float on water are common. Shipwrecks or hazards at sea or in waterways can cause oil or other materials to be spilled or otherwise accidentally discharged into waterways. Even vessels which are carrying oil as cargo are powered by diesel fuels or other petroleum fuels, and fuels and engine lubricants may be accidentally discharged into water.
Pipelines and other conduits which cross waterways are subject to breakage, subjecting the waterway to pollution from discharge of the oil or other material into the waterway. Frequently, oil or other liquid materials are loaded onto ships as cargo by means of pipelines and similar conduits. These pipelines may break or rupture due to accidents or maintenance failures.
All of the examples cited above subject waterways to pollution from oil and other liquid materials having a specific gravity which is less than water. Oil and other materials so discharged float on the water.
Various devices are known in the art which surround and absorb or otherwise capture oil or other floating liquid materials. Some of these devices disclose fabric or netting containing filaments or other oil absorbing material. These devices typically float upon the water, and absorb water as the device contacts the oil spill. The device may be elongated so as to be formed around the oil and contain the oil spill. The prior art discloses such varied absorption materials as hay, straw, bark, sawdust, urethane foam, nylon, rayon, polyester, glass, wool, and cotton.
McCrory, U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,191, describes a device comprising human hair which may be used to absorb oil which is floating on water. The device described therein uses a porous casing, such as nylon mesh, to contain the hair. The casing, however, interferes with the flow of oil contaminated water to the hair. The elimination of a container which is between surface of the water and the human hair is desired, both to improve the efficacy of the human hair oil absorption medium, and to improve the removal of the oil for reuse of the human hair.
Human hair which is available from barber shop cuttings and the like is not readily weavable, and is not readily spun. The length of the hair is generally very short, and is difficult to weave the hair into a textile like sheet or layer, and it is difficult to form the hair into a spun fiber for subsequent processing.